Interchangeable precious stone mounting arrangement

ABSTRACT

An interchangeable stone mounting arrangement for alternately displaying one of multiple different precious stones. The mounting arrangement includes a base portion having a stone support surface that contacts a lower portion of each precious stone. An outer housing is threadedly engaged along the base portion and presents the stone through an annular face surface. An inner edge of the annular face surface contacts an upper portion of the precious stone to both frame the stone and press the stone into contact with the stone support surface. The threaded interconnection between the outer housing and the base portion allows the stones to be selectively removed and replaced

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] The present application is based on and claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/473,645 filed on May 28,2003.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention generally relates to a mounting arrangementfor a precious stone. More specifically, the present invention relatesto a mounting arrangement that allows multiple precious stones to beinterchanged from within the single mounting arrangement to create apiece of jewelry having an appearance that can be easily changed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Presently, precious stones are mounted by jewelers within asetting such that the precious stone does not become dislodged and lost.Since most settings are intended to permanently display the preciousstone, each precious stone must have its own unique presentation.Therefore, if an owner desires to have multiple pieces of jewelry eachhaving a precious stone of a different color, such as a ruby necklaceand an emerald necklace, the owner must purchase not only separateprecious stones but also separate mounting structures for the stones.

[0004] In many cases, the mounting structures are formed form a preciousmetal, such as gold or platinum, which increases the cost of eachadditional piece of jewelry.

[0005] Therefore, a need exists for a mounting arrangement that allowsprecious stone to be removed from within a mounting arrangement andreplaced with another precious stone of a different color or physicalappearance to change the appearance of the piece of jewelry. A need alsoexists for a mounting arrangement that allows the owner of the jewelryto easily and securely retain the precious stones within the mountingarrangement without requiring specialized knowledge to present the stonein a visually pleasing manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The present invention generally relates to a precious stonemounting arrangement that allows the owner of a piece of jewelry toselectively interchange the precious stone while utilizing the samemounting arrangement. The mounting arrangement of the present inventionallows for quick, easy and secure removal and replacement of theprecious stone without requiring specialized knowledge.

[0007] The stone mounting arrangement of the present invention includesa base portion and an outer housing attachable to the base portion. Thebase portion includes a frustoconical stone support surface that extendsfrom a top rim to a bottom end. The support surface is configured toengage a lower, faceted portion of the precious stone to be retainedwithin the mounting arrangement. The base portion includes a series ofexternal threads that engage a mating series of internal threads formedon the outer housing.

[0008] The internal threads of the outer housing allow the outer housingto be threadedly engaged along the outer surface of the base portion.Rotation of the outer housing moves the outer housing along the outerwall of the base portion.

[0009] The outer housing includes an annular face surface having anopening defined by an inner edge. The opening defined by the inner edgepresents and frames the precious stone used with the mountingarrangement. The inner edge defines a circular contact surface thatengages a faceted upper portion of the precious stone and presses theprecious stone into a secure engagement with the stone support surfaceof the base portion. When the outer housing is tightened along the baseportion, the inner edge of the annular face surface presses the preciousstone into the base portion to securely hold the precious stone withinthe pendant. The diameter of the inner edge of the annular face surfaceis less than the diameter of the precious stone such that the preciousstone is securely held within the mounting arrangement and preventedfrom falling out of the mounting arrangement.

[0010] The mounting arrangement of the present invention can beincorporated in many types of jewelry, such as a pendant, earrings,charm bracelets, rings or similar types of jewelry. Further, themounting arrangement can be used to present multiple types of stones,such as diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and such. It iscontemplated that the outer housing can be formed from various types ofmetallic materials, such as gold, platinum, sterling silver or otherdesirable metals.

[0011] Various other features, objects and advantages of the inventionwill be made apparent from the following description taken together withthe drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The drawings illustrate the best mode presently contemplated ofcarrying out the invention.

[0013] In the drawings:

[0014]FIG. 1 is a side view of a pendant incorporating the stonemounting arrangement of the present invention;

[0015]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the pendant shown in FIG. 1;

[0016]FIG. 3 is an exploded view illustrating the stone mountingarrangement and multiple precious stones that can be mounted within thependant; and

[0017]FIG. 4 is a partial section view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2illustrating the retention of one of the stones within the pendant ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] Referring first to FIG. 1, thereshown is a pendant 10 thatincorporates the interchangeable stone mounting arrangement of thepresent invention. Although the drawing figures and the remainingportions of the description will be directed to a pendant 10 for usewith a necklace, it should be understood that the interchangeable stonemounting arrangement of the present invention can be used in other typesof jewelry, such as a charm bracelet, earrings, a ring or other similarembodiments while operating within the scope of the present invention.

[0019] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the pendant 10 includes a hanger 12 anda cylindrical outer housing 14 such that the pendant 10 can be attachedto a standard necklace (not shown). In the embodiment of the inventionillustrated in FIG. 1, the outer housing 14 has a recessed groove 16that provides a more pleasing appearance to the pendant 10.

[0020] As can be seen in FIG. 2, the outer housing 14 has an annularface surface 18 that surrounds and frames a precious stone 20 containedwithin the outer housing 14. The annular face surface 18 surrounds thestone 20 and provides for a pleasing appearance for the pendant 10. Inthe preferred embodiment of the invention, the entire outer housing 14is gold plated, although other metal platings, such as platinum, arecontemplated as being within the scope of the present invention.

[0021] Referring now to FIG. 3, thereshown is an exploded view of thependant that includes the interchangeable stone mounting arrangement ofthe present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the pendant includesthe outer housing 14 and a base portion 22. The base portion 22 includesa series of external threads 24 that receive a series of mating internalthreads 26 formed along the inner wall of the outer housing 14. In thismanner, the outer housing 14 can be threadedly attached to the baseportion 22. The base portion 22 includes the hanger 12 shown in FIG. 1.

[0022] Referring back to FIG. 3, the pendant preferably includesmultiple stones 20 a-20 c that can be selectively removed and replacedby the owner of the pendant 10. For example, it is contemplated that thestone 20 a could be a ruby, the stone 20 b could be a diamond and thestone 20 c an emerald. Since these three stones have different colors,the owner of the pendant 10 can selectively remove and replace thestones 20 a-20 c depending upon the type of outfit being worn by theowner. The replaceable stones 20 a-20 c allow the owner to change theappearance of the pendant 10 without requiring the purchase of differentsettings for each of the stones 20 a-20 c.

[0023] Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, the base portion 22 includes aconical stone support surface 28 that angles inwardly from a top rim 30of the base portion 22 to a bottom edge 32. The bottom edge 32 is spacedabove the outer surface 33 of the base portion to properly present thestone 20 b. The taper of the support surface 28 is selected to generallycorrespond to the lower faceted portion 34 of each of the stones 20 a-20c. Specifically, when the stone 20 b is placed within the base portion22, the lower portion 34 interacts with the stone support surface 28 tohold the stone in the position shown in FIG. 4.

[0024] Once the stone 20 b is positioned within the base portion 22, theouter housing 14 is threadedly attached to the base portion 22, as bestillustrated in FIG. 4. As the outer housing 14 moves downward due to thethreaded interaction between the outer housing 14 and the base portion22, the inner edge 36 of the annular face surface 18 moves into contactwith the faceted upper portion 38 of the stone 20 b.

[0025] As can be understood in FIGS. 3 and 4, since both the stonesupport surface 28 of the base portion 22 and the inner edge 36 of theannular face surface 18 are circular, movement of the outer housing 14along the base portion 22 self-centers the stone 20 b. Further, thethreaded movement of the outer housing 14 along the base portion 22allows the pendant 10 to compensate for slight variations in the stonesizes 20 a-20 c. The inner diameter of the edge 36 is less than themaximum diameter 37 of the stone 20 b such that the stone cannot fallthrough the opening 39 formed by the edge 36.

[0026] In addition to self-centering the stones 20 a-20 c, the mountingarrangement of the present invention allows a user to quickly and easilyremove one of the stones 20 a-20 c and replace it with an alternatecolor or configuration. The configuration of the outer housing 14, andspecifically the inner edge 36, self-centers the stone and provides avisually pleasing appearance to the stone, as shown in FIG. 2.

[0027] In accordance with the present invention, it is contemplated thatthe pendant 10 could be sold with one or more of the stones 20 a-20 c,or could be sold with only a single stone and the option to purchaseadditional stones as desired.

[0028] In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the base portion 22is formed from a relatively soft material, such as bronze or brass,although other metallic materials are contemplated as being within thescope of the present invention.

[0029] Various alternatives and embodiments are contemplated as beingwithin the scope of the following claims particularly pointing out anddistinctly claiming the subject matter regarded as the invention.

I claim:
 1. A precious stone mounting arrangement, comprising: a baseportion having an internal stone support surface and a series ofexternal threads, the stone support surface being configured to receivea lower portion of a precious stone; and an outer housing having anannular face surface and a series of internal threads receivable alongthe external threads of the base portion, the annular face surfacecontacting an upper portion of the precious stone when the preciousstone is supported on the stone support surface, wherein the outerhousing is selectively removable from the base portion to allow removaland replacement of the precious stone.
 2. The mounting arrangement ofclaim 1 wherein the stone support surface is frustoconical.
 3. Themounting arrangement of claim 2 wherein the annular face surfaceincludes an inner edge that contacts the upper portion of the preciousstone to press the precious stone into contact with the stone supportsurface as the outer housing is threadedly moved along the base portion.4. The mounting arrangement of claim 1 wherein the annular face surfaceincludes an inner edge having an inner diameter, wherein the innerdiameter is less than the minimum width of the precious stone.
 5. Apiece of jewelry, comprising: a plurality of precious stones each havinga visually different appearance, each precious stone having a lowerportion and a decorative upper portion; a base portion having aninternal stone support surface and a series of external threads, thestone support surface being configured to receive the lower portion ofone of the precious stones; and an outer housing having an annular facesurface and a series of internal threads receivable along the externalthreads of the base portion, the annular face surface contacting theupper portion of the precious stone when the precious stone is supportedon the stone support surface, wherein the outer housing is selectivelyremovable from the base portion to allow removal and replacement of theprecious stone.
 6. The mounting arrangement of claim 5 wherein the stonesupport surface is frustoconical.
 7. The mounting arrangement of claim 6wherein the annular face surface includes an inner edge that contactsthe upper portion of the precious stone to press the precious stone topress the precious stone into contact with the stone support surface asthe outer housing is threadedly moved along the base portion.